US Dollar exchange rates

The ICAEW Library has compiled this guide to help everyone to find the exchange rates they need.

The Library enquiry team can also help ICAEW members, ACA students and other authorised users with requests for exchange rates from a variety of print and online sources. If you would like to know more about the information we can offer, please call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620, email library@icaew.com or contact us through webchat.

When choosing an exchange rate, consider what you need it for and whether you require a rate for a particular date, an end-of-period rate or an average over a month or year. Check the time and market to which the quotation relates, as rates from different sources may differ.

You should also check which way round the rate is quoted: foreign-currency units per US dollar, or US dollars per unit of the foreign currency. For example, the Federal Reserve quotes sterling rates as US dollars per £1. If you need a rate for tax, customs or financial reporting purposes, check the applicable requirements.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. It publishes US Dollar exchange rates in the following tables:

• H.10 - Daily observations published weekly (10 June 1996 onwards)
• G.5 - Monthly average rates (June 1995 onwards)
• G.5A - Annual average rates (1993 onwards) 

In addition, the H.10 Country Data section provides daily exchange rates for the US Dollar back to 1971.

The Federal Reserve site states that the daily rates included in the H.10 weekly release are "certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for customs purposes as required by section 522 of the amended Tariff Act of 1930", and "also those required by the SEC for the integrated disclosure system for foreign private issuers".

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), an online database maintained by the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, contains a wide range of exchange rates data for the US Dollar.

Many of these data are drawn from the Federal Reserve's H.10, G.5, and G.5A statistical releases (see above). However, some data are drawn from other sources.

The FRED platform is notable for its charting features, and for its user-friendly interface.

The International Monetary Fund in Washington maintains the IMF Data Portal. It contains monthly, quarterly, and annual exchange rates data for the US Dollar against the ECU, Euro, SDR, and various national currencies. In each case, both end-of-period rates and period average rates are given. 

The IMF formerly published the print periodical International Financial Statistics, which also contained exchange rates data. The ICAEW Library & Information Service holds copies of the January and July editions from 2007 until 2012 (plus a copy of the edition for December 2012). Each print volume holds: annual figures for the previous 7 years; quarterly figures for the previous 3 years; and monthly figures for the previous 9 months.

The Journal publishes exchange rates in the Market Data section of its website. This data is sourced from FactSet and Tullett Prebon. Historical rates can be accessed via the 'Historical Prices' and 'Advanced Charting' tools, on each exchange rate page. The earliest data available is for March 2006.

This is an independent service operated by the MeasuringWorth Foundation, having originally been established by Samuel H. Williamson, an American academic. It gives exchange rate data over a much longer period than most other sites, including:

• US Dollar to Pound Sterling, 1791 onwards
• US Dollar to 41 currencies, 1850 onwards (temporal coverage varies between currencies).

These datasets provide annual average exchange rates, rather than rates for individual dates. The underlying observations vary between currencies and periods, and some averages cover only part of a year; users should consult the accompanying methodological notes, including details of historical changes in currency units that may affect comparisons over time.